Top Tips - Stronger Bench Press

Everyone wants to build a strong bench press, whether its a powerlifter or just someone wishing to look good in the gym a strong bench press is a must.

Today I want to talk about top tips to increase your bench press and build strength. You may wonder what amazing secrets I am going to reveal...well there are none, wat I am about to say is common sense techniques that really work.

Build Stronger Triceps

When lifting in the bench press the triceps are the secondary muscle in the lift. If you improve the strength of your triceps this will dramatically improve the amount you can lift in the bench press.

The best method of increasing the triceps for this movement is to complete the bench press with a very narrow grip (slightly less than shoulder width apart). You will find it difficult to lift a heavy weight lifting in this manner as the triceps become the primary muscle and the pectorals the secondary thus giving your triceps a great workout.

Working the Negative

Perform the negative (lowering the bar) section of the lift in a slow and controlled manner ensuring the bar is bought down to the chest you are going to improve your strength greatly.

You may find lifting your maximum difficult at first carry out the lift in this manner but you will sure see the gains in time.

Partial Repetitions

Partial repetitions are a great way to build a stronger bench press as you can work on the section that needs the most improvement.

Top half of lift

You can use blocks on your chest (telephone directories are good) to only bring the bar down half way so you can work on the top portion of your lift, you will find you can lift heavier training this section of the lift.

Bottom half of lift

Use the power rack as a stopper so you can lift directly from your chest for a few inches and return to your starting position to improve the lower part of your lift. If you can build your strength in the lower part of your lift then you will find your bench press improve in strength greatly.

Summary

Sometimes we can get in to a rut when lifting, we find that we cannot improve on the maximum we are lifting. Using the above techniques will improve your bench press greatly in a short period of time.

Instead of just trying to ramp up the weight on the normal bench press, start working on your technique on the negative, improve the strength of your triceps and work on partial reps to build the strength where your bench press is lacking.